“But what truly horsey girls discover in the end is that boyfriends, husbands, children, and careers are the substitute-for horses.” – Jane Smiley

“’I don’t like people,’ said Velvet. ‘… I only like horses.’” – Enid Bagnold

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him participate in synchronized diving.” – Cuthbert Soup

“A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open.” – Gerald Raftery

“A horse which stops dead just before a jump and thus propels its rider into a graceful arc provides a splendid excuse for general merriment.” – H.R.H. Prince Philip

“Those who get in the way of love’s path will be kicked by horses.” – Kyoya Bisco Hatori

“Horses change lives. They give out young people confidence and self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls, they give us hope.” – Toni Robinson

“The woman recovering from abuse or other stressful life situations may feel she’s in no way in charge of anything, least of all her own world. She faces the horse with trepidation. The horse senses the fear and becomes tense and concerned. The wise instructor starts small. The woman is handed a soft brush and sent to fuss over the horse. It’s pointed out that if she stands close to the animal, she will be out of range of a well-aimed kick. She is warned to watch for tell-tale signs of fear in herself and the horse. She’s warned to keep her feet out from under the horse’s stomping hoof. They’re both allowed to back away and regroup and try again until they reach an accord regarding personal space. Calm prevails, and within a few minutes, hours or sessions, interaction becomes friendship. It happens almost every time a woman is allowed enough time and space to work through the situation.” – Joanne M. Friedman

“So a woman whose daily life is overwhelming her learns to step back. Is this a cure for her endless problems? Of course not. Simple is not simplistic.” – Joanne M. Friedman

“I was drawn to horses as if they were magnets. It was in my blood. I must have inherited from my grandfather a genetic proclivity toward the equine species. Perhaps there’s a quirk in the DNA that makes horse people different from everyone else, that instantly divides humanity into those who love horses and the others, who simply don’t know.” – Allan J. Hamilton

“It doesn’t matter what you do in the bedroom as long as you don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses.” – Daphne Fielding

“To be content, horse people need only a horse, or, lacking that, someone else who loves horses with whom they can talk. It was always that way with my grandfather. He took me places just so we could see horses, be near them. We went to the circus and the rodeo at Madison Square Garden. We watched parades down Fifth Avenue. Finding a horse, real or imagined, was like finding a dab of magic potion that enlivened us both. Sometimes I’d tell my grandfather about all the horses in my elaborate dreams. He’d lean over, smile, and assure me that, one day, I’d have one for real. And if my grandfather, my Opa, told me something was going to come true, it always did.” – Allan J. Hamilton

“ ‘Horses frighten me as much as chickens do,’ he said. ‘That is too bad, because lack of communication with horses has impeded human progress,’ said Abrenuncio. ‘If we ever broke down the barriers, we could produce the centaur.’” – Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

“I was a boy, and I believed deeply in the sightedness of horses. I believed that there was nothing that they did not witness. I believed that to have a horse between my legs, to extend my pulse and blood and energy to theirs, enhanced my vision. Made of me a seer. I believed them to be the dappled, sorrel, roan, bay, black pupils in the eyes of God.” – Mark Spragg

“I stood with my hands on the horses’ necks, feeling the electricity of their thinking, the blood moving throughout their veins, and the history held neatly within the fabric of every organ of their equine anatomy, as if the body were a storage unit of memory. As I absorbed every nuance of the four-legged creatures, I touched my own stomach, lower back, liver, and spleen to see what the energies felt like. I compared one horse to another, then to myself, fascinated by the way each was so unique yet so the same.” – Bethanne Elion

“William: ‘My brother has an appreciation of art, so I imagine the woman he chooses must be beautiful beyond the pale. Once he outgrows his current predilection with painting and accepts his family responsibilities, he’ll need a wife who can move throughout society. She must have proper carriage and be a witty conversationalist. She should have excellent bloodlines as well, in the event of offspring.’
Emma:’ With the possible exception of a witty conversationalist, I believe you’ve described all the attributes of a racehorse.’” – Donna MacMeans

“Horses were never wrong. They always did what they did for a reason, and it was up to you to figure it out.” – Jeannette Walls

“I had been riding horses before my memory kicked in, so my life with horses had no beginning. It simply appeared from the fog of infancy. I survived a difficult childhood by traveling on the backs of horses, and in adulthood the pattern didn’t change.” – Monty Roberts

“There is no happiness like the pounding of so many horses into one. I imagine I hear the horses laugh. I think it every time. I think that running is the way a horse may laugh out loud. When I am older I will believe that following in their wake has filled me with the inconsolable joy of animals.” – Mark Spragg

“I am fond of the sound of horses in the night. The lifting of feet. Stamping. The clicking of their iron shoes against rock. They mouth one another’s withers and rear and squeal and whirl and shuffle and cough and stand and snort. There is the combined rumblings of each individual gut. They sound larger than they are. The air tastes of horses, ripples as though come alive with their good-hearted strength and stamina.” – Mark Spragg

“When gangs took over the [abandoned public land in Philadelphia] and the neighborhood took a turn for the worse, horses became a way of saving lives. By getting boys interested in raising a horse rather than killing another human being, these cowboys gave the youth something positive: father figures, focus, and the ability to stand tall.” – G. Neri

“She let them go all night and in the mornings would find them coming toward her where she slept, with that alert and nervous air unridden horses always have at dawn. They are remembering some far time when predators came for them at first light. So they came toward her with the strange and painful air of fallen angels, treading carefully and slowly as if the earth were foreign soil.” – Paulette Jiles

“Go anywhere in England where there are natural, wholesome, contented, and really nice English people; and what do you always find? That the stables are the real centre of the household.” – George Bernard Shaw

“There are strong similarities in the way horses and those with autism see the world. Horses are often born into an environment they don’t understand, with overwhelming sights, sounds, and smells, and a sense that no one understands them. And when they see someone with autism, who has much the same background, and who knows them, and knows what they need – there is a connection. Since the two share the same experiences, they both relax, and seem to talk and understand each other.” – Valerie Ormond

“There’s a very interesting dynamic with horses and couples. With couples, the horses react most dramatically. It is amazing how they pick up on underlying tension or other issues that couples themselves don’t see.” – Valerie Ormond

“First, no other animals have the same mirroring effect as horses, meaning they will mirror humans’ emotions. Second, they are not judgmental or biased. And third, they live within a social structure, their herds, much the same as we do.” – Valerie Ormond

“Horses have taught us about the transfiguring effect of reducing anger. We have repeatedly observed that they rarely show offense at a handler who reprimands them legitimately for something they have done wrong, if the handler is devoid of rage or vengeance. Howeve, if reprimanded in a fury, horses will counterattack because they feel challenged. Many power struggles can be avoided by learning not to meet anger with anger. This is an invaluable lesson in life. Developing patience and being unemotional is the key.” – Adele von Rust McCormick

“According to horses, a good friend is someone who listens, appreciates your company and teases you, but is protective at the same time.” – Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum

“Horses don’t speak, but they communicate through body language. If you look very closely, you’ll find out your horse has been trying to talk to you every day.” – Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum

“Cowgirl Courage isn’t the lack of fear, but the courage to take action in the face of fear.” – J.H. Lee

“There’s a way to train a horse where when you get done you’ve got the horse. On his own ground. A good horse will figure things out on his own. You can see what’s in his heart. He wont do one thing while you’re watching him and another when you aint. He’s all of a piece. When you’ve got a horse to that place you cant hardly get him to do somethin he knows is wrong. He’ll fight you over it. And if you mistreat him it just about kills him. A good horse has justice in his heart.” – Cormac McCarthy

“Instead of legs, horses should have wheels. Then they’d be petable motorcycles.” – Jarod Kintz

“To horses, everyday is a new day to survive. It’s a natural instinct. They don’t think of the past or the future, only the present. So in terms of trying to teach your horse or build a special bond, patience is the key to every stall’s door.” – Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum

“We kept him until he died … and sat with him during the long last minutes when a horse comes closest to seeming human.” – C.J.J. Mullen

“…[V]irtue shall be bound into the hair of thy forelock… I have given thee the power of flight without wings.” – The Koran

“I believe that horses bring out the best in us. They judge us not by how we look, what we’re wearing or how powerful or rich we are, they judge us in terms of sensitivity, consistency, and patience. They demand standards of behavior and levels of kindness that we, as humans, then strive to maintain.” – Clare Balding

“Every time a horse let you up onto its back, it’s giving you its life. Every time.” – Matthew Woodring Stover

“For the most part, I’d say if you crossed a cat with a smart dog, made him a matriarchal vegetarian, gave him sleek beauty, a mass of muscle, and the desire to run, then what you’d have is a horse.” – Tom Spanbauer

“There is a lot of folklore about equestrian statues, especially the ones with riders on them. There is said to be a code in the number and placement of the horse’s hooves: If one of the horse’s hooves is in the air, the rider was wounded in battle; two legs in the air means that the rider was killed in battle; three legs in the air indicates that the rider got lost on the way to the battle; and four legs in the air means that the sculptor was very, very clever. Five legs in the air means that there’s probably at least one other horse standing behind the horse you’re looking at; and the rider lying on the ground with his horse lying on top of him with all four legs in the air means that the rider was either a very incompetent horseman or owned a very bad-tempered horse.” – Terry Pratchett

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